In third year, Hester emerges as solid No. 2 receiver
Three years.
That's generally how long it takes many receivers in the NFL to get accustomed to the nuances of navigating their way through an opposing secondary.
Where should they sit down in a zone? When should they break off a route? When should they run a "hot" route when the blitz is coming? And on and on.
Now midway through his third season as a receiver for the Bears, Devin Hester has clearly matured into a top-notch receiving threat. With 41 catches for 548 yards and 3 TDs, the former superhuman return man has nearly eclipsed his numbers from all of last season (51-665-3).
I asked him after a Week 14 victory over Jacksonville last season if things were slowing down for him at all.
"(Before) when you'd go out to play, you've just got too much on your mind," said Hester, who had 5 catches and 80 yards in that win over the Jaguars. "You're second-guessing yourself all the time. Now you've just got a free mind and you're just playing ball."
It's clear that Jay Cutler trusts Hester and will continue to feed him the ball, which is all fantasy owners want. For us, in this game, he's gone from a high-risk player to a reliable second receiver. Hester is averaging 89.8 yards the last four weeks and should continue to post numbers like that the rest of the way. Those of you who took him, congrats on taking the chance.
Other trends: It wouldn't surprise me to see Cowboys WR Roy Williams have a strong second half. Tony Romo told Bob Costas that a big reason behind Miles Austin's emergence stems from the fact that Romo and Austin have been together for 3.5 years. Once Romo trusts Williams more - and he was definitely looking Williams' way Sunday night in a win over the Eagles - the numbers will rise. -
The Broncos are starting to show cracks in their armor. The team's offense is stuck in neutral, which has left the defense on the field more, and that has led to big days for opposing players. The last three feature backs to face Denver have averaged 103.0 yards, and Ben Roethlisberger just threw 3 TD passes Monday night. It's becoming safer to start your players if they are facing Denver. -
It's still hard to believe, but the Bengals' defense is (gulp) good! Aside from the Texans game, when Matt Schaub lit up Cincy, the Bengals have allowed just 1 rushing TD, 47 rushing yards a game and just 2 passing TDs in Weeks 5, 7 and 9 (they were off in Week 8). The Bengals' 'D' makes a great play in four of seven games down the stretch, including Week 16 when Kansas City comes to town.
My teams: I was crushed in the DH experts league by Lindsey Willhite's squad 129-57 and fell to 7-2. Adrian Peterson's back this week, though, so I expect to finish strong. I bounced back after a brutal showing in my regular league to win 129-89 to improve to 4-5. The unit league (2-7) is a lost cause after a 69-461/2 setback. The only thing I'll say there is that team has 5 more points than a 6-3 team and 60 more than a 5-4 team. A brutal schedule has done in a decent team that includes Tony Romo, Roddy White, Hines Ward and Steve Slaton, but there are a lot of you out there who can say the same thing.
Good bets
• Vikings WR Sidney Rice and RB Chester Taylor vs. Detroit. Rice has 6 or more fantasy points in five of the last six games and gets to feast on the hapless Lions. Taylor is for those of you who need a flex play and are feeling saucy (the last time I recommended Taylor he scored his only TD of the season. Just sayin').
• Tennessee defense vs. Buffalo. Recommending the No. 29 fantasy defense seems silly, but ever since Cortland Finnegan returned for the Titans, the team has started to play much better. Against the Bills (11.0 ppg last six), the potential for points is definitely there.
Bad bets
• Falcons QB Matt Ryan at Carolina. Ryan threw 3 first-half TD passes against the Panthers in Week 2, but he was then shut down. My thinking is that trend continues. Ryan will be fortunate to throw for more than 1 TD this week.
• Packers RB Ryan Grant vs. Dallas. The Cowboys have allowed just 3 rushing TDs on the year.
jdietz@dailyherald.com
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